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What are the chances that a child who grows up in one of Milwaukee's roughest housing projects will be accepted by one of the nation's top historically black colleges?

If you think chances are slim, you are right. That's why you need to hear the story of Shantelle Williams, who has signed a letter of intent to attend Tennessee State University in the fall.

Williams, 18, is not some 7-foot basketball star. She's an academic all-star — a Stein Scholar and a Rufus King High School senior who defied the odds after growing up in the Westlawn Housing Project to become the state Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Club.

Looking at Williams today, you would never guess that she once ran with gangs.

Before the Westlawn Housing Project underwent an $82 million transformation in 2010, the 1950s barracks-style housing unit on the city's north side was overrun by gangs, drugs and prostitution. Williams heard gunshots almost every night.

Imagine being a parent of two children living next door to a crack dealer. That was Shantelle's mom, Tanisha Collins-Johnson. Williams said her mother did her best to keep her and her twin brother out of danger, but the toxic atmosphere in the neighborhood was stressful. When her father developed a drug habit and left the family, Williams joined a gang and the trouble began.

In a column Wednesday, I made the point that the community has to change the narrative because we can't keep losing so many young people to violence and prison. Like any good parent, Williams' mother tried to do that — she was an advocate for her children.

When Williams started to mentally check out, her mother signed up her and her brother for the Boys & Girls Club on their ninth birthdays. It was a gift that gave them a chance.

The open air drug dealing and gunshots didn't stop at Westlawn, but, surrounded by positive role models and activities at the Boys & Girls Club, Williams said she became immune to the lure.

And that eventually led to Wednesday. That day, the Hillside Boys & Girls Club held its first annual signing day for seniors to sign letters of intent to attend the colleges of their choice.

Williams and her twin, Develle, were two of 37 Stein Scholars to participate in the event, which featured recruiters, counselors, parents and friends; Develle is going to the Milwaukee Area Technical College. The students were called to the front of the room and presented with a letter to sign. They were given hats with their college's logos. The 37 students earned more than $2 million in grants and scholarships. Many of the students come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

There were no ESPN crews there to capture the moment, as when top-ranked basketball recruit Andrew Wiggins signed his letter of intent for the University of Kansas. But this was just as big a deal. Maybe an even bigger deal. I know it was for Williams and her family.

Williams told me that after she graduates from TSU, she wants to go to medical school to become an obstetrician/gynecologist. If we can celebrate basketball or football players, then we certainly should celebrate a young woman such as Williams who is on track to become the next doctor or engineer, a woman, by the way, who overcame overwhelming odds.

Vincent Lyles, president and chief executive of the Boys & Girls Club, said that while the club is part of the complex solution to saving at-risk youths, it will take a communitywide effort to reach the masses of kids who are on the fence.

Lyles said his heart goes out to the family of Sierra Guyton, who was shot while playing at the Clarke Street Elementary School playground, but he said Milwaukee will see more such tragedies unless we reach out to the kids who are the hardest to reach.

Williams acknowledged the sacrifices her mother made to keep the family together by working two jobs and keeping her involved in church. She said her mother did her best to fill the void when her father left.

"My mother played a huge role, and I can't begin to tell you how much the club has done for my family," she said. "Programs like Stein Scholars and Upward Bound helped to prepare me for life and college." Williams' mother said she never lost hope.

Williams and other inner city youths get a bad rap, but they can be saved through the help of wraparound programs that provide a helping hand when they need it most. "I know because I was that kid," she said. "I was involved with gangs, but when I joined the Boys & Girls Club, it opened my eyes to so many different things that I used to think were impossible."

When I asked Williams to recite the speech that helped her win the state title, she did not disappoint. She described herself as a "warrior" who had to reconstruct her life.

It's easy for those of us looking in from the outside to say that people should just move to a better environment. Don't live in unsafe neighborhoods, we think. But for those who live in the fourth-poorest big city in the nation, picking up and moving isn't realistic.

That's why we need programs that reach kids before they are too far gone. That way, we can celebrate more college signings instead of mourning lives ruined by crime and incarceration or ended by gunfire.